


The Thing That Separates Us Is...

by WitherAndDecay



Series: Together by Fate, Bonded in Love [1]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Falling In Love, First Meetings, It won't last long - Freeform, Light Angst, M/M, One-Sided Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan/Krel Tarron, POV Alternating, Platonic Soulmates to Romantic Soulmates, Pre-Wizards, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, it was accidental, only a little bit, so was making it this long, some time skips, somewhat cannon-compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26233144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitherAndDecay/pseuds/WitherAndDecay
Summary: Douxie was waiting 900+ years to meet his soulmate, fully expecting them to be a fellow Wizard. But it's not the case, and Douxie isn't sure if they can be anything more than friends because his soulmate is too young. Though just because Krel isn't a Wizard, doesn't mean he's just a normal teenage human.
Relationships: Aja Tarron & Krel Tarron, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan & Krel Tarron, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan/Krel Tarron
Series: Together by Fate, Bonded in Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977241
Comments: 105
Kudos: 203





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic was mostly inspired by the people dissing the ship because of Douxie and Krel's age difference.  
> I hope you antis get dunked on┌|∵|┘  
> And also, I really wanted to write a soulmate AU for them (:
> 
> (Bonus note, if the ship makes you uncomfortable or disgusts you then why are you here? I advise that you back out of this fic and any other Krel/Douxie fic you enter. I will not tolerate my fanfiction being twisted into something it is not, simply because you do not like it or what it contains.)

  
In a world where your soulmates name is written on your left wrist, but only they can read it. Their name is marked on your arm when they're born, and it disappears when they die. Douxie doesn't remember when the name formed on his arm, so as far as he knows it's been there his whole life and his soulmate is older than him. Time kept passing, Douxie would sometimes try to decipher the name himself. It proved to be impossible on many occasions, but it would keep him occupied when he found himself with nothing to focus on. When Douxie started to practice Wizardry, he realised his life was going to be prolonged. And it came with the fear that he would outlive his soulmate. Because of that, he decided he didn't want to meet them. He knew that needing to let them go when the time came and living the rest of his long life without them would be too difficult. So he'd rather never meet them, than have lived a life longer than the time they had together. 

Douxie was reaching the years of the live expectancy of the average human. Every day when he woke up, he'd look at the name and spew out apologies that he never went to find them. He'd do the same at night. Always expecting that one of these days, the name would vanish. Though he sensed something was different, when the decades turned into the first century. When the name never vanished, Douxie had a spark of hope ignited in him, that his soulmate was too a Wizard. They would both have immortality. They would both get to live their long lives together when they meet. For the first time, since his first realisation, he wanted to go and find them. He knows that would take a long time. It may take a century or two to search the entire planet to find them. He wanted to do it. Something was holding him back from it though. 

As much as he wanted to, Douxie could never bring himself to begin his search. It could just be the fact he'd gone so long without wanting to meet them, or it could be that the fear he'd outlive them was still settled deep within him. He had gone about another century without starting the search. It was only when one day, Douxie thought he saw the name fading, that he went. He wasn't even sure if fading was possible, and if it was, what it meant. That's when he started to travel the entire globe. Searching everywhere he could. Every known location to him that Wizardry was practiced. Because after all, his soulmate was another Wizard right? That was why they'd reached two hundred and fifteen. 

It was proving to be difficult. It was taking so long, Douxie wasn't sure where to look anymore. He'd even tried conjuring up a spell that would give his soulmates location, but it didn't. It didn't mark anywhere on Earth with his soulmates life signature. The spell worked though. He knew it did, because he'd used it for someone else before. When he had just finished it and needed to practice it, someone had volunteered themselves for him. They were also in search of their own soulmate, and magic hadn't quite been forgotten just yet, so Douxie agreed. And they found them. So he knows it works. But... It also didn't, for him. 

It was all so hopeless. The feeling that he'd never find his soulmate stuck to him like glue, and it caused him to terminate the search. Maybe they'd find him one day. Or maybe they'd die before it ever happens. It didn't matter. Douxie was exhausted and couldn't go on. He wasn't much of a quitter, but he had searched and searched and nothing. It was almost like they weren't even real. 

Many centuries had gone by. The name never left his wrist, and he never found them. Douxie finally settled down, in small town named Arcadia Oaks. He'd felt so drawn to it, he couldn't explain it. He stayed there, watched it grow bigger. It just seemed like an ordinary little town, but Douxie felt like this was where he was supposed to be. Like he was destined for something there. Whatever it was, he had no idea. It was just a sense and that didn't mean that it was true. Nevertheless, however, he didn't leave. Perhaps this small town would be where he met his soulmate anyway? Because that name was still there. 

\---

Douxie awoke, fully expecting this to be just another ordinary day. All he had to do was get up, shower, dress, have breakfast and go to work. But as a bonus, sweep the town for threats, which he had found to be doing a lot recently. There was a spike in activity several months ago, and creatures tended to be lurking around in the shadows at night. 

He did everything in order. Got up, had a shower, dressed, had his breakfast, then left for his shift at the bookstore. Archie had tagged along to keep him company. He really wasn't expecting anything exciting to come out of the day. 

The first hours went slow. They always did. Douxie did a little reading on magics, because it was always good to keep revised about these things. It's not likely he would forget, but it was just something he did. He served the few people that had come in that morning, not thinking much of it. Until someone had caught his attention. Well, it was more than one person. Three people he had never seen before, and their dog. There was something going on out there, and Douxie couldn't help but watch from the window. The young boy had shoplifted from Zoe's store, and Douxie was oddly intrigued by him. He watched his every move, just fascinated. There was just something about him. It could be that Douxie never seen him before, or there was more to him that met the eye. He wanted to go out there, partly to talk to him face to face, and partly to see what was actually going on. But it all passed within minutes, and they all went their own ways. Douxie memorised the young boys face and made a mental note to speak to him if they ever encountered again. 

\---

As luck would have it, Douxie ran into the boy again within the week. Just outside the store. He was closing up from his shift when he saw him. Walking down the sidewalk, curiously. He was obviously looking for something, so Douxie decided he'd start a conversation by asking him if he needed something. It was a good opportunity and he didn't want to let it go to waste. 

"Hey, are you looking for something?" Douxie asks as he approaches the younger boy. He stops what he's doing and looks directly at Douxie. 

"Kind of. I was here a few delso-er-days ago and I felt something weird," he explains. 

"Weird? How do you mean?" Douxie looks him up and down, studying him. 

"Just a feeling. I just wanted to see what it was so I came back here."

"I can help you look, if you'd like?" he offers. Admittedly, he's not sure what this boy is on about, but he has an urge to get to know him. When Douxie does his hand gesture when he offers the help, the other boys eyes fall onto his wrist and stares at it. 

"That's..." he points to Douxie's wrist as he collects his words and then checks his own wrist. "What's your name?"

"Um, Douxie." He walks over to the other boy, curious to know what his new behaviour is about. He looks down at his wrist, and gasps when he can read what's there. 

"You can read it?"

"Yeah, I can. So you're..."

"You're my soulmate?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has got to be the shortest chapter I have ever written...  
> Still, I hope you all like it (:

  
Douxie looks at the boy before him. A huge smile played across his lips, and he was absolutely amazed. After so long, finally, his soulmate is standing right here. In front of him. 

"So what's you're name then? I have been dying to know all this time." He asks. 

"Krel Tarron," he replies with his own smile. 

"I can't believe it. After so many years, finally, it's really you." Douxie really needed to get to know Krel. He takes Krel by the wrist, leading him to the entrance of the bookstore. He unlocks the place and leads his soulmate inside, locking the doors again behind them. 

"This is what you call a library?" Krel questions as he glances around the place. 

"Well it's similar. Don't you get them, where you're from?" Douxie sits on the stairway, patting the spot next to him for Krel to join him. Krel just looks at it, remaining where he is. He crosses his arms.

"What do you mean where I'm from?"

"Come on, I can tell you're not from here." Krel immediately starts examining himself, almost like he was in a panic. 

"How can you tell? We're supposed to look exactly like you!"

"Um, there's your accent for one, and you're skin tone."

"There's nothing wrong with my skin tone, thank you very much. My transduction is working just fine, so you can't possibly tell from that." Krel recrosses his arms and squints his eyes, beginning to eye up Douxie suspiciously. Douxie found him quite amusing. He was odd, but that was a good thing. 

"So I've been dying to know this, and we don't think we need to have any secrets between us, are you an apprentice or a master?" Douxie asks, still smiling. But Krel returns to looking confused. 

"I don't know what you mean," he responds. Douxie let out a chuckle. 

"I'll tell you first, shall I? I'm still an apprentice. I haven't quite earned my staff yet but I know I'm getting close. I can feel it!" he announces proudly. 

"You're staff?" Krel tilts his head in puzzlement. Douxie's smile falters a little. 

"Yeah... Or do you not have them, where you're from?"

"What is a staff?"

"You know, like a magic stick I suppose is an easy way to put it," Douxie shrugs.

"We don't have magic in Cantaloupia," Krel tells in turn. And Douxie's face falls. His eyes widen and brow raises. He had probably just messed up there. 

"Wait so you're not a... a Wizard too?" he asks nervously. 

"I don't know what that is either. I'm pretty sure I'm a human." Krel examines himself once more. He returns his gaze to Douxie. "What is it?"

"You're... You're not a Changeling, are you?" It was a silly thing to ask. But if Krel wasn't a Wizard then a Changeling was the only other thing he could be to appear human. 

"I'm really not sure what you're talking about. I'm as human as everyone else. Why are you accusing me of these things I am not?" Krel puts his hands on his hips defensively. His answer didn't make sense. There was no way he couldn't be either, and lived as long as he had. There's only one more thing Douxie could ask him, to be sure. 

"Krel, how old are you?" He stands up from his spot on the staircase.

"I don't see why that's important."

"Please, be honest with me. I need to know."

"Fifteen kelt--um years..." Krel replies awkwardly. 

"Just that? You aren't _any_ older? Like, by a few centuries?"

"Centuries!? I didn't know you could live that long here. Wait, how old are you?" Krel returns that suspicious glare.

"Nine hundred and nineteen," Douxie replies honestly and confidently. He was partly hoping that if he was, maybe Krel would be too. They were soulmates after all, they didn't need to keep secrets between them. Even if they just met. And Krel's jaw drops. 

" _Nine hundred?_ Do all you people here live so long?" Krel continues to stare at Douxie, absolutely amazed and fascinated with this new information. 

"No..." Douxie turns his back to Krel. It wasn't making much sense to him. Krel seemed to be telling the truth, Douxie could see it. And he trusts his soulmate, regardless of how long they've known each other. He wasn't a Wizard or anything like. He's just an ordinary fifteen-year-old human. So how has is name been on Douxie's wrist for as long as it had? Maybe the 'system' had been flawed for him, and his soulmate hadn't actually been born when he was given the name? And another matter, given their abnormally large age gap, Douxie doesn't know if he can be romantically involved with Krel. To him, Krel would still just be a child, and wouldn't it be weird if Douxie were to just hop into a relationship with him? He still wants to have Krel around, of course. He knows that platonic soulmates are a thing, though not fairly common. Douxie just hopes that this won't hurt Krel in anyway. 

"What are we supposed to do now? What do people normally do when they meet their soulmate?" Krel asks as he walks closer to Douxie, who turns back around to face him. 

"We get to know each other. Spend time together, form a friendship," Douxie lists all he could really think of. He also wasn't sure what people typically did when they meet their soulmate. Krel smiles. 

"That sounds good. I don't have any friends here yet, but I guess that won't matter now I've found you."

Douxie's about to reply when the clock on the wall chimes for the new hour. He glances at the time and remembers he was supposed to start his shift at the café now. 

"Fuzz buckets... Sorry, Krel, I've got to go. I have a new work shift which I am going to be late for," he tells as he makes for the door. He opens it up, walking out with Krel following close behind. "We can meet again soon, and start this whole friendship thing."

"Yeah I'd like that," Krel agrees. He steps outside the store, allowing Douxie to close and lock the doors. 

"Here, I'll give you my number." Douxie pulls out his phone. Krel copies him, seemingly uncertain. They exchange their numbers and the pair continue to smile at one another. "So I'll text you later, when I'm not busy and we can set up a proper meet up or something?" he offers. 

"Um, yes, do that," Krel nods and slips his phone back away. 

"Great! I'll talk to you later then. I'm sorry this first meeting has been rather weird and, awkward. Hopefully our next will be more smooth. Oh yeah, and the stuff I told you about me, I'd really appreciate it if you not tell anyone. It's kind of a big secret," Douxie requests.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I know a thing or two about needing to keep big secrets," Krel promises in return. 

"Thank you." They exchange one last smile for each other and Douxie gives Krel's wrist another quick glance, his smile getting tighter when he reads his own name there.They say their goodbyes then start going their separate ways. Douxie had a feeling that trying to remain platonic soulmates was going to be a challenge, because already he felt so drawn and connected to Krel. But he doesn't want for things to be so weird or even wrong between them because of how old he is in comparison. Maybe he's only about nineteen in Wizards years, but to Krel that is ancient and could possibly make him uncomfortable. Then there's the fact that because Krel's human, he won't have immortality. Meaning Douxie was surely going to outlive him, and if they were to become lovers then saying goodbye would definitely kill him inside. He's still glad to have finally met his soulmate though, and really can't wait to see him more. 


	3. Chapter 3

Krel rushed back to the mothership. He could not wait to tell Aja the good news! He had expected many things to come out of being on this mud ball, but meeting his soulmate was not one of them. He wasn't even aware that soulmates could be interplanetary. He was so excited and needed to tell someone.

Aja was still home when he returned, and Krel couldn't prevent himself from immediately grabbing both her human shoulders and blurting out the news. 

"I met him, Aja! I actually met him!" he announced with all his excitement. 

"I don't get it, who did you meet?" Aja replied, taken completely aback by Krel's behaviour. 

"My soulmate! I can't believe it. He's here, on this dump heap, and I just spoke to him!" Krel releases his grip on his sisters shoulders, pulling her into a tight hug instead. 

"That's amazing Krel! I'm so excited for you." Aja returned the hug, giggling with her own excitement now. "You have to tell me _everything!_ "

"Alright." Krel tugged on her arm, making her sit on their sofa with him. He proceeds to tell her all about the experience with Douxie, going from what he looked like, how he spoke, the fact Krel found his eyes mesmerising, and that he must have been the cause of the weird feeling Krel experienced those delsons ago. He told everything, disincluding those things Douxie asked him not to tell anyone. Like the fact he was over 900 keltons, and some magic man too, which must be a rare thing on Earth, if he wants it kept secret. Krel had almost felt bad that he needed to hide his own secrets from his soulmate. The pair had just met, and already Douxie had told him such personal information. 

"He sounds wonderful already. When are you going to see him again?" Aja asks. 

"He said he was going to 'text' me later. Whatever that is, I have no idea. It must have something to do with these phone devices because he exchanged numbers with me. That must be how these humans contact each other. With numbers. Which is unusual," Krel explains. 

"We really should learn more about these human customs." Krel nods his agreement. 

The day progressed, and Krel waited patiently for his soulmate to do this text thing. He couldn't deny that he was eager to speak to him again. Krel never thought he could be this excited to see another person, one that wasn't of his family. He'd only just met Douxie as well, but he was already so fond of him. He couldn't stop thinking about him and the things they could do when they meet again. And maybe Douxie could teach him some things about being human, if he'd been on this planet for over 900 keltons he must know everything there is to know. Krel was also very interested in how Douxie had lived so long, if it wasn't normal for humans. It probably had something to do with his magic, but again apparently that wasn't normal, so where had he obtained these abilities? Krel had so much he wanted to ask. 

Then, just after seven pm, Krel's little device made a strange ' _ping_ ' sound. He pulls it from the pocket he keeps it in, getting ready to examine it for the source, when it does it again, only the screen lights up too. There was writing on the screen, in a little white box and to left side was an image which contained the face of his precious soulmate. Krel immediately lit up with a smile, pressing the little box to see what message had been sent to him. 

⨼Hey just wanted to let you know I've finished my work for the day if now is an ok time to hang out?⨽

⨼This is your soulmate, Douxie in case you've forgotten⨽

Krel gave the time a double check. He really did want to see Douxie again, and spend more time with him. But he realised that his transduction was going to ware off within the hour, so regrettably he couldn't.

⨼I can't this night I have to be here. Which is my home⨽

Krel responds. He frowns typing the whole thing out, and sighs after hitting the send key. 

⨼Oh. That's alright, don't worry about it. We'll have plenty of time to spend together now we've finally met, so it's ok⨽

And that, also regrettably, wasn't entirely true. The only time they would have together would be until Mother was repaired, and able to go back to Akaridion-5. Why, of all places, did his soulmate need to be here? The place which he cannot even stay for long. This knowledge, however, only fueled Krel's need to spend more time with Douxie. If they would have no more than a few parsons together, then it should be full. Maybe even spend whatever free time they had together, like whenever Krel wasn't at this school or worrying about his transduction fading. 

⨼What about tomorrow evening? My cafe shift ends early so we can meet up right after. If you'd like, that is⨽

⨼Yes I'd like to. When does this shifting end⨽

Krel responds without hesitation. He doesn't fully understand what this cafe is, or why Douxie was shifting it, but he didn't need to ask. The only information that matter was when he would be done. 

⨼5PM. I can meet you outside?⨽

⨼Of course you are capable of entering the out doors⨽

⨼😂 I meant meeting you outside the cafe⨽

⨼Oh well yes. That works too⨽

⨼Great! See you at 5PM tomorrow then 😜⨽

Krel was just a little confused by the use of the facial expressions, but was more excited once again by the thought of meeting Douxie in person. He hates that he couldn't tonight, because of his transduction. He just had to be sure that it wouldn't ware off while he was out tomorrow. He'll need to program it a little bit later than he usually would, so it would give him a few hours to spend with Douxie. 

Having his soulmate was definitely, without a doubt, the only good thing about being on this mud ball. And Krel was sure, that if he didn't have Douxie, then being here may just prove to be intolerable. No other person had taken a liking or understanding to him yet, and they were so low in their technological advancements, it was quite embarrassing for their species, so he couldn't exactly go about getting parts to create some new piece of tech. Their supply on the mothership was limited, after all so he should probably save everything they had for emergencies. Although, there was one thing Krel could get into, and that would be this planets music. There was so much he wanted to learn and try out. Perhaps Douxie could help him with that?

Tomorrow. 

Krel would see him again tomorrow. 

And he just couldn't wait. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, writing a Krel who's just arrived fresh on Earth, is a little more difficult than I anticipated. Still trying to get a feel on how he reacts to all this human stuff, and customs.


	4. Chapter 4

Krel had a sinking feeling that the following day would pass slowly. He just hadn't anticipated how slow. This school was absolutely misery for him so far, and can safely say he despises it. He's yet to make a friend there, Aja already has loads of people adoring her, no-one really understands him either. He's too smart for all of these humans and most his classes are easy. The one's that aren't are the ones that make no sense whatsoever to Krel. So far, he wasn't enjoying his time on this mud ball. The one thing that was getting him through the day, was knowing that he'd get to see Douxie again. He had made sure to set his transduction later that morning too so he could spend more time with his soulmate. He hoped that Douxie had plans for them both, because he doubts Douxie would take in interest in anything Krel would like to do and maybe wasn't smart enough to understand either, unless Douxie was too a genius. 

At long last the end of school came, Krel practically sprinted outside. He would have went all the way to his soulmate had Aja not stopped him to walk home together. She expressed her thoughts about the day she had, and Krel must confess he was only a little jealous that she had managed to make so many friends and so quickly. He hopes desperately that Douxie wouldn't end up hating him too. Once he found out Krel's personality, would he still want them to spend time together? Still want to be friends? Or even... partners? That thought was still foreign to him, but he knows that soulmates always end up together. Although if Douxie doesn't like Krel, then they never would become that. And this was all the more reason to hide his Akaridion self from Douxie too. There's no doubt he won't take it well. Krel, in the few delsons being on this planet, had become very aware of what these humans think of extraterrestrials. 

Aja walks around the town with Krel, trying to find wherever this cafe was. He was a bit annoyed with himself for not having asked Douxie where the thing was last night. It could take them a while to find it, and if he's late Douxie may think he's not coming, and that would give him even more reason to dislike Krel. He does not want them to get off to a bad start because so far Douxie was the one good thing about this planet. Krel needs him. Douxie has to love and appreciate him, so he really can't screw this up. He's never been so worked up over a social thing before, he doesn't really understand it. Nor does he understand this burning desire to see his soulmate more, or the inner warmth he feels just thinking about him. That little flutter his heart does when he remembers Douxie smiling at him. These were such strange feelings, but Krel can't say he doesn't like them. 

They've been walking around for ages now. Or so it feels. Krel doesn't even know what they're looking for, so he's just keeping his eyes open for his soulmate. Aja's taking the lead, being sure to inspect the building signs they walk past, starting to ask questions that mostly consisted of what Krel would be doing with Douxie and whatnot. He may be looking forward to everything to do with his soulmate, but he doesn't really want to talk about him all the time. There are other important things to talk about, after all. He doesn't understand why his sister would rather talk about this human she's never met, that talk about Krel's interests. What was so much more appealing about other people and feelings?

Krel cuts that thought short when he gets a glimpse of his soulmate through one of those windows. He stops Aja, telling her that it's him and this is where he needed to be. He checks the time. Thirty or so mekrons early, but it didn't matter. Krel asks Aja if she could take his backpack back to the Mothership for him. She reluctantly agrees, wishing Krel luck then leaves waving at him with a grin. 

He takes a seat by one of the tables outside, nervously playing with his fingers. He absolutely had to make a great first (or was it second?) impression on Douxie. He thought about impressing him with his knowledge on physics, or perhaps describe one of his inventions without giving away too much detail of the Akaridion tech. What if Douxie wasn't interested in all that though? What if Krel bores him, or makes Douxie dislike him? Krel was very familiar with the desire to impress his peers, but impressing his soulmate was proving to be stressful. He could not stop worrying about all the bad outcomes, the what-if's. Whatever feeling had consumed him all day. It was horrible. But was also nice at the same time. 

Apparently worrying takes up a lot of time, because before Krel knew it, Douxie stood before him with that sweet smile. Krel makes direct eye contact with him, feeling this odd heat rise in his face. Douxie's facial expression changes to that of fascination, or so it looked to Krel. Was this rising heat visible?

"You're blue?" Douxie points out, but it was more of a question. Krel naturally panics, checking his hands to see if he'd changed forms. They were fine. Thinking it could be the now fading heat in his face, Krel turns to see his reflection in the glass next to him. His cheeks were a dulled blue. That was strange, but also not good for concealing his true form. He looks back to Douxie nervously. 

"Apparently I am," he replies and attempts to rub the blue off his face. Douxie chuckles, and Krel feels his face heat up again. 

"That's quite fascinating. I've never seen that before."

"There's a reasonable explanation for it, I'm sure!" Krel's quick to defend, to avoid any suspicions. Douxie absolutely cannot know. 

"Not everything needs a reasonable explanation. I study magic, so I would know." Douxie extends his hand out to Krel, that smile returned to his face. Krel places his hand into Douxie's and waits for him to do something. "C'mon, I wanna show you around." Douxie gives Krel's arm a light tug and Krel stands, ready to follow him. 

"I've already seen... Everywhere here," Krel tells once they start to leave the cafe. 

"I didn't doubt it. But I figured, since you know about my magic, I could maybe show you some? If you've never seen it before I'm sure you'll love it." They get a few more steps before Douxie takes a look at their joint hands, then drops Krel's. He thinks nothing of it, his mind consumed by thoughts of Douxie and his 'magic'. Krel still couldn't believe how open he was after just meeting. It made him feel a little bad, having to hide his own secret, making Douxie believe he's just a regular human teen. Not extraterrestrial royalty. Hopefully Douxie won't be mad, or hate him, when the day comes that he needs to return to Akaridion-5 or if the secret gets out. But that's in the future. Right now, he should just needs to focus on the time he's spending with his soulmate. Since they won't have all that long together, Krel needs to make the most of it. 

"I've never seen magic before," Krel decides to tell him. 

"That much was obvious," Douxie replies playfully. He looks over his shoulder to Krel, with his loving smile. No-one had ever looked at Krel like that before. It felt really soul warming. His entire being just lit up and melted under the gaze he was receiving. 

Douxie leads him all around Arcadia, pointing out his personal favourite places to go with his friends, that were also his band members. Apparently Douxie was good with music, so Krel asked if he could teach him about it and Douxie had agreed. 

It was starting to get dark now. Worried he was running out of time, Krel checked to see how long he had. Just over an hour. That was good. Douxie takes Krel by his hand once again, leading him into a dark alley. When they stop, the strange accessory on Douxie's wrist lights up blue and Krel stares at it in amazement. 

"What is that?" he asks. "It doesn't look anything like this Earth tech I've seen."

"It's magic, Krel."

"It's amazing..." Krel continues to examine the blue magic on Douxie's arm, wanting to know more, see more. 

"This is nothing. You've yet to see the real stuff."

"That looks pretty real to me." Krel backs up, redirecting his graze from Douxie's now glowing arm to his face. Douxie just laughs for a response. 

"Promise me you won't freak out?"

"I'm not freaking out, I'm just very interested in this 'magic'."

Douxie puts his arm out straight, his palm facing up right. Then an orb of blue light forms in the center of his hand and Krel's eyes widen. 

"I usually start off with this light spell, to draw out anything hiding in the shadows." Douxie begins to walk farther down the alley so Krel follows him, keeping his eyes on the blue light in his hand. 

Douxie leads them both through the dark alley, paying close attention to any corners or darker parts. When they reach the other opening, Douxie puts out the light on both his hand and bracelet. They repeat this for a few more streets, keeping communication at the same time. Douxie tries to explain what it is he's doing but Krel's more focused on the actual magic itself. A desire to fuse it with some of his Akaridion tech wormed it's way into Krel's mind, making him eager to try it out. But he knows that would only ever happen if he was to tell Douxie the truth about himself, which he can't do. 

They were just about to repeat this little process for the eighth time, when Krel realises he's about to run out of it. He had about seventeen mekrons before the transduction would ware off, and he doesn't know how far from Mother he is. 

"Douxie, I've got to go!"

"You do?" Douxie turns around to face him.

"Yes, I've, got to be home for... Very soon, like fifteen mekro-er-minutes." Krel starts to back up slowly, preparing to sprint away when they've said their goodbye's. 

"Oh... That's alright," Douxie replies with a clear disappointed expression, it makes Krel feel bad again. "I can walk you home, if you like?"

"That won't be necessary," Krel rejects the offer. He's about to say goodbye before he remembers that he isn't entirely sure where he is. "Actually... I-yes. Please?"

Douxie's face lights up and he smiles once more. After Krel tells him where he lives, Douxie leads the way. Krel isn't sure how far into their walk they are when his hands start to glow blue.

"Kleb," he mutters. If his hands are starting to go, then his eyes already have. That's no good at all. 

"Shouldn't be much farther. Do you recognise anywhere yet?" Douxie does a little gesture to their surroundings, none of which Krel does recognise. At least, not yet. He really should pay more attention to this place so he won't get lost or whatever. 

"No, not yet."

"Just a couple more streets then. How long did you say you've been here for?" Douxie turns around and Krel immediately looks down to hide his eyes. 

"I'd say six de-days."

"Arcadia is only a small town. You'll memorise the place soon enough." Douxie returns his attention to the direction they were walking so Krel does the same, taking his soulmate's words into account. He takes another look at his hands. The effect was nearing his wrists now. He sucks in a breath through gritted teeth, praying that they'd get their faster. 

Luck seemed to be on his side this time, because Krel recognised the next street they came to. He let out a sigh of relief, as Douxie wouldn't need to stay anymore. 

"I know where we are now," he confirms.

"That's good," Douxie says in return, but doesn't stop walking. Oh that's right, Douxie was planning on walking him _all the way_. 

"Do you think we could walk a little faster? I don't think I have much longer," Krel requests. 

"Got a curfew?" Douxie chuckles. 

"Lets just say, no-one would be very happy if I showed up late."

They start to pick up the pace, but after a moment Douxie reaches back, taking one of Krel's hands and breaks into a light run. 

"No no no," Krel whispers to himself. All Douxie needs to do is look down and he'll know!

They run for another minute and then the Mothership comes into view.

"There! That's it!" Krel points out. Douxie doesn't look to see where he was pointing, but seems to know exactly where he meant anyways as he runs faster. 

They stop right outside. Krel gives Douxie a moment to catch his breath as he's panting quite heavily. 

"Lets hope you're... parents won't... hate me for... bringing you back late." Douxie takes more deep, steadying breaths before looking directly at Krel. Once again though, Krel averts his eyes to avoid Douxie noticing the not-so-human look. 

"They wouldn't hate you. They'd be mad at me for being so careless," Krel says as he walks to the front door. 

"I'll text you later then?"

"Sure," Krel agrees. He opens the door and they say their goodbyes. The second the door is shut behind him, the transduction fades and his Akaridion self is revealed. Krel sighs in relief. He only just made it. 

He was met with questions from Varvatos, predictably asking if anyone saw him. Krel assures him that everything was fine, and he reluctantly lets it go. Aja asks him how it went, and what they did. Though Krel, having to protect his soulmates own secret, said they were just walking around Arcadia. It was true, just without the part where they used magic. 

"That doesn't sound very exciting for a first date," Aja remarks. 

"Date!?" Krel exclaims. 

"You're soulmates, right? I'm pretty sure that's what the humans do when they find their soulmates."

"I didn't think of it like that," Krel admits. 

"You should do something more lively for your next one."

"Yes... For my next date... With Douxie..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any mistakes!  
> Also, I may try to make this cannon compliant to 3Below.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nope I didn't proofread and I am sorry for any mistakes. I'm also sorry if my chapters are getting shorter...

Douxie felt like things were going well with his soulmate. Despite the fact Krel was obviously hiding something from him, Douxie was loving spending time with him. He understands completely though why Krel would withhold something from him and honestly, he was completely fine with it. Douxie knows that when Krel is ready, he'll open up about it. 

Everything they've done together so far has been wonderful, even if it was just minor things - things that wouldn't normally feel so great to do. If he was being honest, it was nice to have a non-wizard (or wizard associate) to talk to, hang out with. Nothing was really about magic, or keeping an extra set of eyes on the small town without anyone knowing. His evenings with Krel weren't about hunting any irate monsters. It was just them talking about things they liked, getting to really know one another, like they were just completely ordinary teens. Of course they were far from it. At least Douxie was assuming Krel wasn't what passed as 'normal' either. It was such a rare thing, and a thing Douxie hadn't had in a real friendship before. Krel may be fascinated with magic, yes, but his interests seemed to lie more into Douxie himself. And that was a welcome breath of fresh air.

They were going to be meeting up again tonight; Douxie was going to start giving Krel guitar lessons as he'd mentioned before he wanted to learn. Douxie was, of course, more than happy to show him. They agreed on 2 lessons per week (Douxie still had to make time to practice for the Battle of the Bands) and tonight was the first. Krel's sister was out on a date tonight, and Krel was completely free, which is why they had picked tonight to start. 

Douxie couldn't deny, he felt bad for Krel - he had mentioned that Aja was able to make friends with just about everybody, while no-one wanted to be friends with him. It didn't make sense to Douxie; his soulmate was wonderful, perfection even, what was there to not want to befriend?

Douxie packed his acoustic into it's case, slinging it over his shoulder ready to go. He looks back to Archie, who was curled up on his personal cushion, deciding he should probably alert him that he was going out lest he wake up concerned of Douxie's whereabouts. 

"Hey Arch." Douxie approaches his familiar, kneeling down beside him and placing a hand gently on his back. Archie's head perks up at the contact, he looks straight at Douxie. "I'm heading out now, ok?"

He's met with a sleepy nod of acknowledgement, and takes it as his allowance to go. He gives Archie another gentle pat before standing to leave. 

"Remember not to burn the house down," Douxie jokes as he walks to the front door. 

"We both know who the careless one is here," Archie replies after yawning. 

"Ha ha." Douxie walks out, closes the door, and starts making his way to Krel's house. 

The walk was relatively quick, considering Krel lived on the other side of town. It took no more than twenty minutes, but Douxie was fast at walking when he wanted to be. When he arrives, he doesn't even need to knock or ring the bell. Krel opens the door the second he gets to it, but he looked rather nervous. Douxie smiles at him, picking up on how every time he does so, Krel goes a light tint of blue. Douxie can think it's cute and mean it in a platonic way, can't he? It makes his curiosity about what Krel really is deepedn every time. He doesn't know of any species with blue blood that also looks human. He was just going to have to wait until Krel was comfortable enough to share the truth with him one day. And of course, he isn't going to be mad at his soulmate for not sharing his secret when they first met - like Douxie had done. If he was being honest, he probably should have waited to share. Gotten to know Krel more before letting his secret in the open like that. But it was alright now; he trusts Krel completely. 

Krel gives back his own little smile, albeit nervous. Douxie takes in the space around him as this was his first time being inside. He'd seen glimpses at times when taking Krel back home. It was lovely, much tidier than his own place and it was definitely well looked after. 

Krel closes the door, and starts leading Douxie over to what he assumed would be his bedroom. "You have a nice place," Douxie comments along the way. 

"It's uh, new." Krel opens the door on their right, letting Douxie inside first. His assumptions were correct; it was Krel's bedroom. He sets the guitar down by the foot of the bed, turning back to face Krel who flips on the light switch and stands awkwardly by the door. 

"Sorry, I've never had anyone in my house before. I don't know what the protocol is..." Krel apologises with a small shrug. Douxie chuckles. 

"I'll take the lead then shall I?" Krel nods his agreement. "Is it alright if I sit here?" Douxie gestures to the bed and Krel nods again, walking over to join him. 

They both position themselves on Krel's bed, Douxie getting his guitar out of it's case. "I've only got the one, so we'll need to take turns."

"That's ok, I'd probably be better observing for now anyway."

Douxie starts off with showing Krel how to hold it; he'd previously mentioned he had never done that before. They get that down really quickly, and so Douxie moves on to showing the easiest three chords and how much pressure to put on the strings. He gives the examples with a few strums, then passes it over to Krel so he could give it a try. They practice the A, C and D majors and having that down pretty quickly too (it seemed Krel was a fast learner) Douxie decided to move onto D, C and G chords. He thought it best to save the most tricky chord positions for last. Douxie did have to keep helping Krel set his fingers properly, and let him know when there was too much pressure on the strings. 

They stopped after the first half hour so they could have a break, Douxie didn't want to unload everything on Krel all at once. Krel asks his rather peculiar parents to get them some drinks - Douxie had refused the offer of snacks. 

For whatever odd reason, Krel had brought up the subject of how he didn't understand why Aja was on a date with Steve. Douxie couldn't say he knew the guy too well, if even at all, but from what Krel was telling him he didn't sound like the brightest character. Krel told him the story of how Steve had hit him in the face, causing his nose to bleed and him going a little light headed (that part had made Douxie angry with the guy) and how Aja had kicked him right back and now they were dating. It was an odd thing to want to date someone for, and Douxie could agree with Krel that he didn't understand it. He felt a little saddened by the fact no-one had invited him to this party too, but it wasn't like Krel would really go anyways. Besides, if he had then he wouldn't have gotten to spend time with Douxie. 

Just as they were about to get back to the lesson, Krel's phone started to vibrate with a phone call. When he picked up, however, his face dropped. 

"Don't worry, I'm coming!" Krel stands up, shutting his phone off. 

"I'll take it that's an emergency?" Douxie stands up too, Krel sighs. 

"Yeah. Aja she... Needs my help."

"I could join you, if you'd like?" Douxie offers and starts to pack up his guitar again knowing he'll need to leave. 

"No, no, that's ok."

"Oh... Alright."

"I'm sure she'll be fine, anyway, I just really need to go and help her." Krel starts backing up toward his bedroom door, placing his hand on the handle ready to open it. 

"Don't worry about it," Douxie assures. "We can carry this on from where we left off." He picks up the guitar and exits the room along side Krel. 

"Sorry our date was ruined!" Krel says when they get outside. Before Douxie could respond, Krel was already running down the road away from him. 

"Date...?"

Douxie walks back home thinking hard about it. It wasn't a date. He couldn't date Krel, he was far too old to do so. It wouldn't make sense, and it would be weird. It absolutely was not a date. So Krel probably just had a slip of the tongue. Of course he didn't mean to say date about their evening, he was probably just thinking how he needed to save Aja from hers. 

That was all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couldn't explain the whole teaching guitar in a lot of detail, it has been a good few years since I last played so my knowledge has kinda gone bye-bye.
> 
> Any/all comments and kudos appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, just one draft, no proofreading hehe....

There was only one good thing about being stranded on Earth for Krel - Douxie. Everything else was pretty much intolerable so far. Mostly the recent attacks from the bounty hunters. That was definitely putting extra paranoia on Krel's shoulders, and he really didn't need it. 

If he was to be honest, the only times he ever truly felt happy or relaxed was when he was with Douxie. He positively loved his soulmate; whenever they were together was absolute bliss. The smiles, the looks, the soft and gentle touches (including the accidental ones) it was more than Krel could ever hope for from his soulmate. He's thankful that he got so lucky as to have someone like Douxie and he was really enjoying all their dates so far. 

The dates have just consisted of going out together in the evenings, the guitar lessons he was receiving (Aja was the one who labelled those as dates too), getting meals or a snack together in the café Douxie worked in. Maybe they were simple things, but Krel loved it. He loved Douxie (despite them only spending about two months together) and he couldn't wait to tell him that.

Krel never thought that confessing love would be a big deal; they were meant to be together after all. But it was nerve-wracking. Krel had wanted to say it on their last few dates, however the nerves had prevented the words from leaving his mouth. They always got stuck in his throat, which made no sense. It was just three little words, why did they refuse to come out? Why did he practically choke on them?

He needed to say it before he returned to Akiridion-5. He'd thought about revealing his true self at the same time as announcing his love for Douxie. Krel didn't know how to go about that either, mostly because he was scared of Douxie's reaction; how would he take it? Would he be angry that Krel never opened up when they first met? Would he be afraid because Krel's an 'alien'? Would he be upset or disappointed, or maybe not want anything to do with him anymore?

Krel does know one thing though - he absolutely needs to tell Douxie, because as his soulmate, he deserves to know the truth before they never see each other again. Regardless of how Douxie could potentially react, he must know. Consequences be damned, Krel was going to tell him. 

Just not yet. 

He still needs to pack up the courage for a double confession, and it wasn't easy. Yes, he may have practiced on a few occasions when he was alone. Sometimes he whispers 'I love you' to the name on his wrist before he goes to sleep. Even though Krel knows the writing says Hisirdoux Casperan, he really wished he could read it. 

Krel was once again laying awake, thinking over how he would go about everything. He was delicately smoothing his fingers over Douxie's name as he thought - a habit he found himself getting into recently. Whenever his mind would wander and think primarily about Douxie, Krel would run his fingers across the name over and over until he stopped thinking or someone snapped him out of it. He really doesn't know how he ended up so consumed by his soulmate, but he was the most wonderful being he'd ever met so he was completely fine with it. 

The best time for Krel to tell Douxie would likely be within the coming days. They were going out on a retrieval mission tomorrow, and with a new component for the daxial aray, the Mothership would be able to fly back to Akiridion-5 within the month. And it was a little scary to know it was that soon that Krel would need to leave his soulmate. 

He needed to plan how he would do it, or everything could end up a disaster. He needs to prepare himself for every outcome, every reaction Douxie may have. Though he mostly had to prepare to have his feelings hurt if Douxie doesn't take it well. One thing Krel hated about this whole soulmate deal was the amount of feelings it involved. While it brought pleasant feelings, it brought about a lot of negative ones too. Krel had felt some of those before, while trying to impress his parents with his engineering capabilities, but being put down by their lack of enthusiasm and interest along with the comment that Krel's a prince and mechanics should not be his top priority. 

Maybe Douxie wasn't like that though. If Krel was lucky, he would take it all really well. He'd like that Krel wasn't human and he'd understand why he never said anything until that point. 

Krel stops touching the name on his wrist and rolls over onto his side. He could think more about this tomorrow. Right now he was really tired and needed to recharge for their mission tomorrow. "Goodnight Douxie," Krel mumbles to his wrist before shutting his eyes and allowing himself to succumb to sleep. 

***

The mission would be happening later during the evening, so Krel decided he'd spend his morning with Douxie. It'd been a few days since they'd seen each other in person, but they did text on a daily basis now. It was weird to say the least, that Krel missed Douxie's soft voice. 

When he texted his soulmate earlier asking if they could spend some time together, Douxie invited him to have a 'brunch' and the café with him. Of course Krel accepted in a heart beat. If he had the chance to spend even a second with his soulmate, he wouldn't give it a second thought. He didn't know what a brunch was but assumed it was edible or along those lines. 

After receiving numerous warnings to be back on time from Aja and Varvatos, Krel left the Mothership to meet Douxie. He left about twenty mekrons before their meeting time, but that was in the hopes that he'd get to spend a little extra time with him. He was only going to be on his lunch break, which he only got thirty mekrons for. It didn't seem like that much time to Krel, and it was going to be feel like nothing since they were spending it together and time just flew when Krel was with Douxie. This was also their first afternoon date too. All of them had been in the evening so far and the one time he gets to spend hours with Douxie, it's cut extremely short because he needed to work. It wouldn't exactly matter when Krel reveals his Akiridion self however, so that was another reason to look forward to doing so. 

Krel arrives at the café, sitting at one of the outside tables to wait for Douxie. He takes a peak inside the window next to him, and notices Douxie who waves at him. Krel waves back, watching him for a minute or so before his thoughts wander again. He continues to think about when would be the best time to tell Douxie everything, but it was still really nerve-wracking to think about. 

Krel doesn't know how long he'd been thinking about it before he's snapped out of his thoughts once again.

"Well you seem anxious." Krel turns in his chair to look at the source of that sweet voice. "What's on your mind?"

"Oh, it's not important right now," Krel shrugs. Douxie sets down a tray with a small selection of pastry foods and a drink for them each, and sits in the chair opposite Krel.

"Are you sure? I've never seen you so zoned out before."

"Well... Maybe we can talk about it later, it is actually something I need to talk to you about."

"Later then," Douxie smiles and Krel's core feels so light. He always finds himself melting when his soulmate looked at him like that. All he could do in return was stare into those beautiful golden eyes. Krel was really starting to see the appeal of being in love (he never expected he'd really be interested in it at all). 

"Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you; will you be competing in Battle of the Bands?" 

"I have considered it, but I don't know if I'll have time."

"You should really go for it! Ash Dispersal Pattern will totally smash everyone, but still give it a go. It'll be great fun."

"You speak very highly of this band of yours, and just for that, I'll go and I'll be the one 'smashing' you!" Krel announces.

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" Douxie grins, raising a brow. Krel grins back at him. "Then I accept, and may the best composer win."

"Good luck with that. You won't stand a chance anymore."

"We'll see, won't we?"

Douxie takes the drinks off the tray, handing one over to Krel and starts drinking from his own. Krel takes a sip through the straw, his eyes widening when the flavour hits his tongue. It was sweet and tingly, and cold. He didn't know what it was, but it was delicious already; way better than any other drink he'd had on Earth so far. He takes more needy sips from it before Douxie breaks out into a laugh. Krel stops, staring at his soulmate. 

"Haven't you had a smoothie before?" Douxie asks. 

Krel shakes his head. "I haven't."

"You must really like that, then."

"It's the best drink I've ever tasted!" Krel replies, taking another mouthful of the cool, sweet fluid. 

"So you don't get them in Cantaloupia?"

"Sadly we do not."

"Do you get _anything_ there? You act as though everything you've tried has been for the first time," he comments, starting to stir his smoothie with the straw. 

"Well we have _some_ things, just not a lot in comparison to here. It's vastly different, actually."

"Yeah I can tell. I'm just curious as to _how_ different," Douxie says in a hushed tone, leaning over the table, closer to Krel. 

"Very."

"Must be." Douxie keeps getting closer, his hands gripping the sides of the table. Krel watches his curiously, trying to figure out his intentions. Then, Douxie stops. His face but a few inches from Krel's, and he gets an idea as to what Douxie could be doing. And that was _not_ happening. Krel moves away, his back resting against that of the chair, keeping his gaze on his soulmate. Douxie continues to look at him expectantly in return. 

"What are you doing?" Krel crosses his arms. 

"Well I was hoping you'd maybe tell me a little bit more about Cantaloupia. Things perhaps you wouldn't want other _ordinary_ people to hear?"

"Can't think of anything," Krel shrugs. 

"Oh..." Douxie sighs, moving back to sit in his own seat properly. He squeezes his mouth into a thin line, returning to stirring his drink awkwardly. Krel couldn't help but wonder; did Douxie know something he didn't? Could he tell that this made up place was just that? Did he know Krel wasn't really from Earth?

"Sorry, Douxie. We can discuss it some other time?" Krel offers with a smile. Douxie perks up at the suggestion, his own smile gracing his face. 

"Yes. I'd like to."

Krel finishes up the smoothie, regretful though as he wished he'd savoured the sweet taste. He'd definitely need to ask Douxie for another one some time, and maybe try to get some back on Akiridion-5 for when he returned. 

They both eat the stuff that Douxie had brought out for them, and finish with eight minutes to spare. Agreeing that the next time they were together would be for another lesson for Krel, Douxie decided to go back to work. Krel didn't protest, the past twenty-four minutes had been the best all day. 

"Thanks for the date," Krel says just before Douxie could leave. And that made him stop dead in his tracks. 

"That's the second time you've used that word," he says as he turns back around. 

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Krel, we're not dating?" Douxie tells, although it comes across as more of a question.   
  
That makes Krel gasp. "We're not!?"

"Umm, no... I didn't think we were."

"But I thought that dating was the human custom when they meet their soulmate!" Krel could feel his face heating up from the embarrassment. _How could they not have been dating?_

"It is, yes. But not for everyone. Some soulmates just keep things platonic. Which is what I thought we were doing."

"Platonic? Like, just friends? You mean you don't like me?" Krel questions, an ache forming in his core. 

"Of course I like you Krel! You're everything I could ever hope for in a soulmate! But... Y-you're too young for me. I'm, well you know, and you're just fifteen. That's a big difference, a-and things would be really weird?" Douxie tries explaining, and in doing so the ache in Krel's core increases. 

"Too young? I'm about to be King, I think I am old enough for you!" he fires back, but screws up his face when he realises his mistake. "Kleb..."

Douxie blinks, eyes wide, taken aback by Krel's little announcement. Krel swallows, holding his breath, looking at his soulmate, expecting him to lash out for keeping that secret from him. Krel could just smack himself in the face for that slip up. Douxie looks as though he's about to say something, but is interrupted by the timer on his phone ringing. 

"Fuzzbuckets..." he mutters when he pulls out his phone to turn off the timer alert. "Look, we can talk about this next time. Maybe you'll be more open with me then, and we can clear up our situation." Krel doesn't get the chance to reply before Douxie turns his back and leaves. His core is overwhelmed with an ache he has never felt before, and he feels a prickling in his eyes. He leaves the café and on the way back to the Mothership, a warm liquid runs down his face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (⊙ˍ⊙)  
> Krel's line "I'm about to be King, I think I am old enough for you!" came from a comment from the user writingforFUNandbecauseBoredom. I really like it, and decided I needed to make him say that (;
> 
> Anyways, any/all comments and kudos appreciated!
> 
> P.S did I spell 'daxial aray' correctly?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have some (unnecessary) angsty? filler from Douxie's perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm updating it already. I couldn't leave you hanging on whatever happened last chapter (totally by mistake) for long, could I? (:

Things between Douxie and Krel had been so good. It had been divine, even. Krel was everything Douxie ever wanted from anyone, be it friend or lover. But he felt like he had messed that up now. He hadn't realised that Krel believed they were dating. He hadn't realised that his soulmate had developed romantic affection for him. It's obvious now of course. It was all given away in Krel's behaviour - in every sense. Douxie could slap himself over and over for screwing things up like that. He should have been more clear of the nature of their relationship, and they wouldn't be stuck in this situation now. They had a really good thing, and now Douxie was worried Krel would never want to speak to him again. 

Once Douxie was finished all his work for the day, he decided he'd text Krel an apology when he got home. He thought long and hard about what he could say to try and fix any potential damage he had caused; he simply couldn't lose Krel over his own idiocy. He couldn't lose him at all for that matter. Krel meant everything to him. He had managed to wriggle his way in so close to Douxie's heart in the short time they had known each other, and now Douxie doesn't want to, or can't, imagine life without him. He doesn't know what he'd do if he'd lost his soulmate, how bad it would affect him. Krel had brought him the most joy he had ever felt, if he was being honest. It was as though a piece of himself he hadn't realised was missing had found it's way back to him and he felt whole.

When he got home, he went straight for the kitchen. He couldn't very well stress over everything on an empty stomach now, could he? Douxie goes into a cupboard, going through his life-supply stash of cup noodle, trying to find his favourite flavour. He practically lived off them; the only time he didn't eat cup noodle was when he was eating out with someone else. Douxie finds one of his favourite, takes it out the cupboard and starts to prepare it. 

Once it's ready, Douxie grabs some of the already prepped salmon he keeps for Archie when he's really not feeling up to preparing anything grand for his familiar. He takes both items through to their living room, setting down the salmon for Archie, then sits on his sofa, cross-legged and begins to hastily eat his noodles. 

Archie watches Douxie's actions intensely, studying him. He eats some of his food, but most of his attention remains on Douxie. He can tell that he's in some sort of stress; things like that were blatantly obvious to Archie. He was able to sense when Douxie was in a bad mood, be it angry, stressed, upset, paranoid or anything such like. He waits until Douxie has finished eating before addressing his current state of mind. 

"What's wrong, Doux?" Archie jumps onto the sofa to sit with the young Wizard. 

Douxie sighs. "I may have potentially messed everything up with Krel," he admits. 

"Oh dear, what have you done now?" he decides to tease, although it may not have been the best idea because Douxie's frown tightens and he squeezes his eyes shut. 

"I hurt him. Not physically, before you get any ideas! I mean I, hurt his feelings. A lot."

"You can tell me how, I won't judge you Douxie," Archie assures, sensing Douxie's hesitance at sharing all the details of the story. 

"All right... Um, he thought that we were dating," he starts, looking at Archie for validation to go on. He receives a nod to do just that. "I forgot to clear up the nature of what our relationship would be. He was under the impression that we were dating, and I believe he's developed romantic affection towards me. So, when I told him that we were keeping things platonic he just... He looked so hurt. Like I had just taken everything from him in that moment, and it hurt _me_ to see him like that. I-I don't know what to do, Arch, I'm afraid that I won't be able to make it right and I'll lose him forever." 

As Douxie explains, a tear manages to fall down his face. He hadn't really acknowledged the ache in his chest until just now. And it hurt.

He had hurt his soulmate, and it was hurting him in turn. 

The thought that he'd never be able to mend what he'd done hurt. 

Why'd he have to be so stupid? He had just jumped right into his relationship with Krel; it had never occurred to him that he didn't know what he was doing. His carelessness and stupidity may very well have cost him everything he had with his soulmate. 

Douxie had grown to really care about him, too. He brought such a warmth and calmness, Douxie felt content and relaxed whenever he was around Krel. The time they spend together made him feel happier than he'd been in a very long time (or possibly than he'd ever been). They would sometimes share these moments in which Douxie would feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. His heart would feel like it would burst out of his chest whenever Krel smiled at him, or said something sweet, or laughed at something Douxie said. In fact, if he was being honest, Douxie hadn't really picked up on how full Krel made his entire existence feel. 

"Talk it out with him, if it's really got you this distressed. It would do you both good to clear things up before it has time to set and become harder to fix. I know I'm probably not the best for giving you advice on how to deal with your human affairs, but remember I'm always here if you need it," Archie attempts to comfort him, nuzzling up against his side. Douxie smiles, moving his hand to gently pet him. 

"I know. Thank you, for your advice." Listening to his familiar, Douxie takes out his phone and opens his recent conversations. looking for Krel's. It was right at the top- as it should be. He presses on the conversation, typing as fast as he could. Before he sends the message, Douxie reads over it a few times. He had to be sure this was what he wanted to say. His thumb hovers over the send button and he absentmindedly chews on his bottom lip. 

"You shouldn't be afraid of trying to mend things, Doux," Archie tries to encourage him when he notices his inner debate. 

Douxie sighs. "I'm not. I'm afraid he'll be angry with me, and everything that comes with that."

"You'll never find out until you send it." Archie gestures his head to the phone in Douxie's hand- who nods his acknowledgement in return. 

With a now shaky thumb, he slowly inches it toward the send button with a heavy exhale. "Nothing to worry about..." Douxie sends the message. He stares at his screen for a moment after that, as though he thought Krel would just instantly respond. He sighs again, returning his phone to sleep mode, takes his empty cup noodle pot through to the kitchen to be disposed of. 

He may have purposely taken longer than was necessary, fearing what Krel may have messaged him. In an attempt to avoid looking, he takes his second shower of the day (that was as a stress reliever) changing into his nightwear when he was done.

Douxie gets back to the living room, sitting down on the sofa once more. He grabs his phone to check for any new messages. There wasn't any. Krel hadn't responded, which was kind of expected yet Douxie was surprised anyway. Or was he disappointed?

Some more time passes; Douxie keeps checking for anything from his soulmate. There was nothing, and it'd been three hours since he'd sent the text. Maybe Krel was just that mad at him, he didn't even want to talk to him?

Well, it would be fine. They were planning to meet again the day after tomorrow, so if Krel hadn't texted him by then, then it would be the next time Douxie had a chance to fix things before they got worse. 

He absolutely could not lose Krel, least of all to his ignorance and stupidity. His chest hurt at the mere idea of Krel hating him over that- or at all, really. Douxie simply couldn't bear it, and at the moment it was just a paranoid thought. He wasn't going to let that happen. 

Douxie was going to apologise as many times as it took for Krel to forgive him for his mistake. He had just found his soulmate, after nine-hundred years of on and off searching. He was positively determined to keep him forever. 

Douxie checks his phone one last time. Still nothing. He sighs, and decides to send Krel one last text before shutting his phone off and turning in for the night. Maybe there would be something there when he woke up in the morning. 

Here's hoping. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone, for all the love this story is receiving! I SEE YOU TALKING ABOUT IT OUT THERE! Honestly never expected it at all and it makes me really happy to know just how much y'all are enjoying it!
> 
> (Also, Krel telling the truth to Doux soon....?)
> 
> Any/all comments and kudos appreciated! As usual. I am now living off your love.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah that's right, another new chapter already (:  
> ᵇᵘᵗ ⁱᵗ ⁱˢ ᵉⁿᵗⁱʳᵉˡʸ ᵖᵒˢˢⁱᵇˡᵉ ⁱ'ᵐ ᵃˡʳᵉᵃᵈʸ ˢᵗʳᵘᵍᵍˡⁱⁿᵍ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵗʰᵉ ⁿᵉˣᵗ ᶜʰᵃᵖᵗᵉʳ

Last nights heist had been a success, for the most part. Of course this was disincluding Krel's carelessness, what with his mind being clouded by anger due to his aching core, and him getting knocked unconscious. Luckily though, now they had everything they needed for the Mothership to work again, she would be ready to launch in forty-eight horvaths and they could finally leave this primitive mud ball. 

Krel had endured Stuart talking about other planets where they could potentially hide, playing his guitar throughout with an his core heavy because all the sound made him think about was Douxie. They hadn't left things on the best note. Krel and his idea that they were dating, the look on his soulmates face when he said as much, the knowledge that Douxie didn't (and possibly wouldn't) like the young Akiridion in that way, and his little slip up with mentioning him being a King-in-waiting. Krel had wanted to fix things before they left for Akiridion-5 but was too afraid. And honestly, what would be the point in fixing things if they would never see one another again after two delsons? He wasn't even sure he could face   
Douxie again too. 

Krel was ready to retreat into his room (definitely not planning on crying over his soulmate) when his attention was diverted. Aja was leaving to go on a date with Steve, and was going to tell him everything about them! Krel didn't want that to happen, it was Steve! It may not have been so bad, had him and Aja actually been soulmates. But they weren't; Steve was unbonded and Aja still had someone else's name on her wrist. 

They had just started to argue about the matter, then Aja said "You were going to break the news to your own boyfriend, Krel! Don't be so hypocritical. I am going to tell Steve, and perhaps it's time you do the same with Douxie."

"Douxie wasn't my boyfriend..." Krel mutters to himself as he watches his sister leave for her date. But he thinks about what she said. Maybe it was hypocritical of him, and maybe he should tell Douxie too. He _did_ need to talk things out, like his little slip up and huge, embarrassing, misunderstanding. 

He sighs, going to his room to find his phone. He hadn't looked at it since yesterday morning, and there was a potential he had missed a text from Douxie. 

His predictions are proved correct when he turns the small device on. There was only five, the last one being two hours ago asking if he was ok. Krel enters the conversation, reading Douxie's recent texts. 

↳ Hey, I'm sorry about upsetting you earlier. It was my mistake, and

I really think we need to talk and clear things up 

\---

↳ It's all right if you don't wanna talk right now, I get it. Goodnight anyway

\---

↳ Hey Krel, please text me soon. I don't want to sound desperate

or anything but we do need to talk about yesterday

\---

↳ I hope you're not angry with me. I understand if you are, 

but please say something. I really am sorry for upsetting you

\---

↳ Krel are you ok? I'm starting to worry here

Well it was a relief to see Douxie still wanted to talk ho him, but Krel wasn't angry with Douxie. How could he? He loved him! He was angry with himself though, and he was majorly hurt over the fact he wasn't loved back. But he wanted to talk to Krel, was even worried about him, so at least he cared in some respective. 

\---

I'm ok. I just hit my head and passed out last night so I

couldn't answer you. When would you like to talk? ↲

Krel stares at the message for a while before sending, making sure that is what he really wanted to say. It didn't look weird, really, so he exhales and sends it, setting his phone down on the bed. 

He may as well tell Douxie everything today. If Aja was going to tell Steve, Krel should tell Douxie. There wasn't any point in hiding it anymore. Even if they wouldn't see each other again very soon. 

His phone vibrates with a notification. He picks it up, and sure enough, it's a reply from Douxie. Krel smiles seeing it on his screen, but it fades upon remembering yesterday. It still hurt, but he still loved his soulmate regardless. 

\---

↳ Oh I'm so glad you're ok! You were scaring me, really.

I am so relieved, and I hope you're head's not sore?

We can talk now. Come over to the cafe, I'll be waiting for you

That was all the convincing Krel needed. He shoved his phone into his pocket and practically ran out the ship, the café being his heading. He was so excited for seeing Douxie again. Given the short amount of time they have left together, Krel wanted to spend any second he could with him. He knows being away from him was going to hurt, but he was already hurting, he wasn't loved back, so it was ok wasn't it?

When Krel gets nearer, he starts slowing down. The café was right in front of him, yet he could not bring himself to take another step. He stares at it, his eyes falling onto the very same spot where his hopes were crushed. Looking at it, remembering what happened, was sending these sharp short pains in his core. It felt so heavy again. All he could do was stare at the building across the road. What was all this he was feeling? It was easy to say Krel hated it. It had to be the worst thing he had ever felt, although losing his home was a tight second. He didn't think anything could be worse than that, yet here he was with a pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. 

But he couldn't let it get in his way. Krel just had to ignore it, talking to Douxie was his top priority. The young Akiridion takes some deep breaths, unprepared to let this feeling cloud his mind. Going over there was important right now, he needs to do it. He takes one step off the sidewalk, then before he knows it he's standing at the door. Krel takes one more steadying breath and pushes it open. 

It seemed as though Douxie had known it would be Krel to walk through the door next, because the instant it closes behind him, he feels a pair of arms wrap tightly around him. It makes him gasp from surprise, ready to fight back at whoever had just attacked him, but upon realising it was just Douxie, Krel returns his hug. This was the first time they had done that. Krel tightens his hold on the boy he loved, burying his face in his shoulder. He doesn't know why this embrace had suddenly overwhelmed him with emotion, and he felt tears running down his face again. 

"I am so sorry. I was worried you wouldn't want to see me again," Douxie whispers as he squeezes Krel a little more. 

"You don't have to be, I-I understand. You don't _like_ me, and it's ok, you don't need to." Another pain shoots through his core when he speaks, his voice broken from the pain, but it was the truth. Douxie didn't need to see him that way, because they wouldn't be together for much longer so those feelings would be wasted. 

Douxie sighs and slowly lets him go, his own face wet with tears. Krel reaches out to wipe them away, for seeing the one he loves crying hurt him. Not allowing his hand to linger and make things weird, he lets it fall back to his side. Douxie doesn't speak. He just takes Krel by the hand, leading him to a table to sit. 

That was when Krel noticed; Aja and Steve were here too. "Seriously?" he groans and rolls his eyes. 

"Oh, is there--did I do something wrong, again?" Douxie asks, both sounding and looking hurt. 

"No!" Krel is quick to assure, grabbing him by the arms tightly to prevent him from leaving. "No, it's not you. It's that." he points to behind his soulmate, who turns around to see what he meant. 

"I thought I made sure the place was cleared out so we could have it to ourselves," Douxie shrugs. "Oh well, it's just your sister."

"And that blonde oaf!" If he was lucky, then they hadn't seen him yet and hopefully wouldn't. It still annoyed him greatly that Steve was going to know about them if he didn't already. But if he prevented Aja from telling him, that really would just make Krel a hypocrite. So he huffs in defeat, slumping down in the seat behind him. 

Douxie continues to stand, watching the pair through squinted eyes. "That's the one who socked you in the face?"

"Yeah, that's him. Aja's _boyfriend_ ," he says with distaste. He really could not understand what Aja saw in him.

"They're not soulmates?" Douxie stops looking at them, sitting down opposite Krel. He shakes his head.

"Steve is unbonded, Aja's not."

"That is an odd reason to date someone, then," he mutters. Krel picks up on the small, barely noticeable, frown on Douxie's face when he says 'date'. Clearly he felt bad, which simply wouldn't do. It was all Krel's misunderstanding. It wasn't Douxie's fault Krel wasn't desirable enough for him to want to date him. 

"Don't worry about it. It was my mistake, for doing this wrong," Krel apologises. 

Douxie lets out a little gasp, his eyes widen. "It isn't your fault! Krel, I need to be sorry. I wasn't very clear when we started this. Truthfully, I didn't know what I was doing, and I feel like I led you on, giving you false ideas. I can see I've hurt you and I don't expect you to forgive me right away, but I ask that you please let me fix this." He reaches over the table, picking up and holding one of Krel's hands in both his own. 

"Don't be sorry! You've done nothing wrong. I get it. You don't want to be with me. I'm not good enough and that's alright... And I have been keeping something from you." He wanted to take his hand back, but it felt nice having Douxie hold it in the warmth of his palms. 

"What? That you're about to be a King? So you're royalty, that doesn't matter to me, I don't mind that you never told me," Douxie smiles and shrugs in reassurance. It makes the heat grow in Krel's face, but also hurt him. It was just a friendly smile, not one you share with who you love. "Now you have got to explain to me what makes you blush blue."

"Erm, my blood? Or have I got that fact wrong? Does it not mean 'blood-rush'?"

"It does, but normally _human_ blood is red. We don't turn blue when we blush. So tell me, if we're going to be truthful now, what are you?"

Krel swallows. Staring intensely at his soulmate, he thinks of how to say it. He was so sure he was ready to tell him but now, much like trying to confess his unreciprocated love, the words were stuck in his throat like a thick glue. His gaze moves beyond Douxie, settling on Aja and Steve who were laughing together. Had she already told him? Was it easy for her? Maybe they should go over there and do it together? 

Krel couldn't do this. It was tough and scary, every negative outcome was playing in his mind. If Douxie didn't love him, would he hate him for being what he was? One thing he had hoped wouldn't happen _did_ , so perhaps another would too. 

"Krel?" He looks back to his soulmate who was looking at him expectantly yet concerned. He was so beautiful, even with an expression such as that. He still looked soft, full of admiration toward Krel, and his multicoloured eyes and freckled cheeks were what could be considered cute. How had Krel gotten so lucky as to have this boy as his soulmate? He wasn't worthy of his love anyway so it's just as well Douxie didn't. There was nothing Krel could really lose by telling him too. 

Krel is about to start when the lights started to flicker on and off. "That's odd," Douxie comments and at the same time an orange light floods through the windows of the café. Items started to float off the tables and Krel could hear Aja gasp rather loud. Douxie glances around curiously, poking one of the forks flying in front of him and it twirls away. "Huh, well this is new. What's going on?"

"Nothing good." Krel has a pretty good idea what was happening, and if he was right then they had to get out of there. He stands up, pulling Douxie along with him. "We need to get out of here." He starts to make a break for it, going towards Aja and Steve. 

"Krel?" Aja exclaims when she spots him. He's about to speak but is cut off before he can utter a word when the building shakes and all four of them start to float too. 

"What's happening!?" Steve screams. 

Then, not a second after, they were all being sucked out the door by the beam of orange light. Krel grabbed onto Douxie tighter to make sure he was ok and he in turn wrapped his arms around his shoulders as they were pulled up into the sky. They got closer to the ship capturing them, and were teleported inside. 

"This isn't good," Krel states. Steve panics behind them, Aja tries to calm him down, Douxie looks around utterly confused with his arms still wrapped around Krel's shoulders. This really wasn't going to be the most ideal way for Douxie to learn about what he was. At least now though, he couldn't back out. All he had to fear was the outcome that Douxie would hate him over it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How has this thing gotten so long? Hope I'm not starting to bore anyone reading this...
> 
> \---
> 
> Any/all comments and kudos appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is pretty chonky and I didn't mean to do that.

Getting abducted certainly wasn't on the list of things Douxie thought would happen today. Or any other day for that matter. Although this was Arcadia, and he knows well enough by now that anything can happen in this town.

Ignoring Steve's freak out, Douxie realised he was still holding onto Krel and hadn't been pushed away yet. He also noticed, unsure of when it had happened, that Krel had his arms wrapped around his middle, and heat quickly raised in his cheeks. 

Trying not to be awkward, he slips his arms away from Krel's shoulders, taking a couple of steps back to allow Krel to let him go. He mumbles out an apology as he does so before looking around whatever they had been captured in. 

It was dark, only illuminated by a harsh orange light, with a gloomy atmosphere and practically screamed dangerous. Whoever or whatever their captors were, they probably didn't have good intentions. 

"Do you hear the offensive stereotypes your boyfriend is peddling?" Douxie over hears Krel complain to Aja. He adjusts his body so he's directly facing Krel once again.

"Offensive stereotypes?" he questions. 

"Highly offensive! I cannot believe this is how Earth portrays all extra terrestrial life. As some sort of dangerous, evil threat, here to take over your planet," Krel rolls his eyes, his tone filled with disgust. 

"Wow, you have a pretty strong opinion about aliens, huh? Why is that?"

"Well what's your opinion of them?" Krel deflects nervously. His gaze falls from Douxie down to the floor.

"When I first learned that there may be other life in the Universe, I couldn't comprehend a thing like that. Although, the more time had passed and it started becoming a bigger belief, the more I also started to wonder 'what if'. I've come across so many different species here on Earth, I'd find it super interesting to meet an alien. If I ever could, that is," Douxie explains, Krel's face lighting up at his last sentence.

He looked as though he was about to reply, before Steve said 'pineapple' rather loud, and the doors opened. But it wasn't because of what Steve said. Two large creatures of a species Douxie had never seen before walked through, pushing the blonde boy over, causing him to fall to the ground. 

Instinctively, Douxie stood in front of Krel, ready to protect him from whatever these things were. Him and Aja both pulled out a blue object, holding them like they were getting ready to fight. 

"Aja, and Krel Tarron," one of the things addresses while the other snatches away what Aja was holding, pushing Douxie out of the way to take Krel's one too. Douxie lands on the ground next to Steve, about to push himself back up to protect his soulmate. However, the creature shoves it's face into Douxie's own, then to Steve's. "And what are these?" it says as it sniffs them both. 

"Palchuck. Steven Q. Palchuck," he announces and Douxie gives a slight eye roll. 

"I don't think it was asking your name," he mutters mostly to himself. Steve was then picked up, thrown over the creatures shoulder, doing the same to Douxie. They were being carried away, Douxie started to struggle in the thing's tight grasp.

"No, stop!"

"Douxie!" Krel cries out, running after them but the door slam closed before he could reach, although Steve had just enough time to throw his foil hat back at them. 

They were carried through what could only be a corridor, the lighting the same as the room they were taken from, and thrown into a different one. They were threatened by being told they'd never set foot on Earth again before being locked in there together. 

Douxie stood, rubbing his right shoulder to relieve the pain from where he was thrown against the ground. Steve had started to panic again, and when Douxie looked around their new cell, he could understand why. It was filled with odd machinery that looked far too advanced to have been from Earth, so he found himself joining Steve's conclusion that they had been abducted by aliens. 

Well they weren't going to be trapped in here for very long. Douxie could use a spell to get the door open, but had to be sure Steve was distracted first to avoid exposing his magic to him if he didn't need to. It wasn't because he didn't like Steve, it was that he didn't know him at all, or trust him enough with a secret this big. 

It seemed he wouldn't need to think of something to distract the younger teen, as a loud, low, groan came from behind them. Of course, Steve shrieked again and Douxie could barely suppress another eye roll. It could just be that Douxie had already been through a lot of strange things during his life that he was able to remain so calm. The only thing really he was really worried about was the safety of his soulmate.

He doesn't know why they were separated, but he could have a good guess, though he doesn't care. He just had to get back to him and make sure he was all right. "Steve, why don't you go and check that out and I'll try opening the door," he instructs as he walks over to the door. 

Steve whimpered, but complied, cautiously making his way to the opposite end of the cell. Once Douxie has determined that his company was preoccupied, he spins through the spells in his bracer to look for one that would open the door. He glances back, confusion washing over him when he observes Steve with a cow. Though he can't think about that right now.

Douxie selects the right spell, an orb of blue light forming in his hand, and he uses it on the door. Blue light spreads through it before it opens, a satisfied grin quirks the corners of Douxie's lips. 

"Come on, lets go," he says, gesturing for Steve to follow him.

"What? How did you-"

"Doesn't matter. We need to focus on finding Krel and Aja and getting off this spaceship." Douxie leads them back the way that they had came, trying to remember which room they were originally taken from. 

He gasps when he sees one of the aliens coming towards him, so he pushes Steve back around the corner and swiftly follows. After waiting almost a minute, he pokes his head back around to see if the coast was clear. Letting out a sigh of relief upon seeing it was, he continues their way through the corridor. 

He freezes, his eyes widening when this awful sound began to assault his ears. He looks over his shoulder, watching as Steve retrieves his phone from his pocket. "What is that horrible sound?"

"You mean my ring tone?" Steve asks, seemingly offended. Douxie sighs, wanting to face palm, but has to fight the urge. 

"Turn it off, before we get caught," Douxie tells and starts walking again. Steve does as he was told, but not a moment after they both hear Aja call his name. 

"Aja! Are you ok? If those nasty aliens hurt you I'll pummel those buttsnacks!" 

Douxie noticed how Aja winced at her boyfriends words, although quickly realised that Krel wasn't behind her. "Where's Krel?" he asks, worried. 

"He's fine, he told me to find you two. Now come on, before they find us." Aja starts leading them back they way she had came. 

However, they're stopped short when one of the aliens rounds the corner, coming right for them. Both Douxie and Aja take up a defensive stance, while Steve backs away to the side. Douxie realises than neither of them have a weapon, and this thing was much too large to be taken down without one. He looks down to his bracer, considering his options. 

Aja was his soulmates sister, surely it would be alright if she were to find out? As for Steve, Douxie would just have to hope he'd keep his lips sealed. He's about to activate his bracer, then Aja charges at the alien. She dodges it's swing at her by sliding across the ground, swiping both of the blue items away from it. She sticks one in her back pocket, activating the other as the alien pulled out a weapon of it's own. 

"You get to Krel, I'll take care of this," she instructs Douxie. He doesn't hesitate to comply, running past them both to find his soulmate. 

Fortunately, he didn't need to look very far as he saw Krel walking through one of the many doors on this thing. He picks up his pace, just in time to witness his soulmate being thrown to the ground by the other alien. Douxie gasps when he sees a third, picking Krel from the ground and restraining him. 

"Krel!"

"Douxie? _No!_ "

Everything that followed had happened all to fast. The beeping when the case was opened, it being dropped to the ground, Krel attempting to run for Douxie, but being pulled back and protected by the other alien and then the explosion. Douxie barely had enough time to activate a protective shield around himself, as the blast threw him against the wall behind him. The spaceship began to shake and it felt as though they were falling. 

Douxie winces when a pain shoots through the back of his head, sucking a sharp breath through his grit teeth. Krel rushes over to him asking if he was alright and helped him to his feet. 

"I'll live," Douxie assures, trying his best smile, gripping the back of his head when another pain shoots through. 

"Come on, I need to try and land this ship." Krel gently tugged Douxie along into what could only be the main control room. The giant blue alien was already in there, looking like he was trying to get something to work. Krel swatted him out the way and sat in the drivers seat, pressing things on the control panel himself. 

"Can you fly this thing?" Krel was asked by the alien. 

"No. The best we can hope for is that I make us land gently."

Douxie gasps when an idea enters his mind. Exposing his magic wouldn't really matter in front of the big blue guy, so Douxie pushes his way over to Krel and puts a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "I have an idea. I may be able to enchant the ship with an anti-gravity spell and slow our fall."

Krel looked to the alien beside him, then back at Douxie. "Alright, try," he nodded. 

Douxie activates his bracer, spinning through all the spells and selects the anti-gravity spell. Blue light forms in both his hands, putting it into the floor and uses it to try to enchant the ship. He keeps pushing hard, watching as everything slowly became coated in blue light. 

"Seklos and Gaylen."

"Please work, please work..."

"We're about to hit the ground!"

The ship lights up bright blue, and their fall is broken when it the entire thing jolts. Then the fall at a much slower pace, hitting the ground with a light 'thud'. Douxie lets out a sigh of relief, collapsing to the ground and laying on his back. 

"You're welcome," he huffs, closing his eyes. He hears a grunt from behind him and something else break, hitting the ground outside. He opens one eye to take a peek, finding that one of the walls had popped off and the large alien had fallen along with it. 

Krel came and knelt beside Douxie, helping prop him up into a sitting position. "You did it!" Krel wraps his arms around Douxie's shoulders and pulls him tight against him. Douxie readjusts himself in order to hug his soulmate back. 

"Are you ok? What was... all _this_? What did those things want with you a-and-"

"We can talk about this, later. I definitely have a fair few things to explain to you," Krel interrupts his stream of questions and removes his arms to break the hug. 

"Well... Could you start with telling me where you're actually from?"

"Yeah... Lets get off this thing first." Krel stood, helping Douxie to his feet too and both jumped off the ship. 

Krel is met with a hug from yet another alien, being called 'little brother', and this was going to be a big something for Douxie to wrap his head around. He looked a little ways behind Krel and saw Steve examining the larger alien. And, well, if the smaller one was Krel's sister then that meant that Douxie's soulmate was also an alien. 

Wasn't that something? He wasn't even aware of interplanetary soulmates, so it made him wonder just how many people, or species, had never found their soulmate due to this fact. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so, I've been debating on whether or not I should continue this story on to rewrite s2 of 3Below as well, or just leave it once I've finished writing s1. But I would like to know, would y'all want me to write this for s2? Or prefer if I just leave it? Cause I really cannot decide myself.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did want to hold this off for a little bit longer but I also couldn't wait, so, here, heheh.

They had started walking back to Krel's house, although during his explaining he mentioned that it was actually a spacecraft, the 'Royal Mothership'. Douxie always thought it just seemed like an ordinary human house but Krel said that was the idea; the house was merely a camouflage. 

Krel had explained what he could to Douxie, while Aja was doing the same thing with Steve. He told Douxie about Akiridion-5, him being a royal and all that, and why they ended up on Earth. A lot of things were starting to add up now. 

"It all makes so much sense! Why we were abducted, your curfew! All those times you told me you had been mysteriously attacked."

"We were attacked by bounty hunters," he tells. 

"And that night your sister needed your help?"

"She was being attacked by the bounty hunters."

"And why your blush is blue! I've been trying to solve that one since I first saw it happen," Douxie points out. 

"My-my what?" Krel stammers in confusion. 

"Your blush? Haven't you heard of that before?" Krel shook his head. "It means blood-rush, and it's triggered by emotional stress caused by passion, shyness, anger, embarrassment or romantic stimulation. I'm going to guess it's the last two that always caused you to turn blush because you only did it whenever it was something I said or did. Like when I smile at you for example," Douxie explains. 

"Oh..." Krel tilted his head away when he felt heat rising in his cheeks again.

"Like that! You're doing it again. Are you embarrassed?" he points out.

"No!... Maybe... I didn't realise you could see it is all," he shrugs.

"I think it's cute," Douxie says before realising. "Oh, um, I mean I-I like it."

Truthfully, Douxie was even more fascinated with his soulmate now. Of course he found Krel interesting anyways; he'd never met anyone like him. Now with the added fact that he was from a completely different planet? Douxie thought he got really lucky when the Universe paired them together. 

When they had gotten back, Krel pulled Douxie over to the side while everyone entered the house/mothership. "What is it?" Douxie asked.

Krel holds out both of his hands, which were glowing blue. Douxie examined them slightly, having remembered seeing this once before. That night that he had shown Krel his magic for the first time, Douxie had caught a glimpse of Krel's glowing hand but had never felt bringing it up. He figured if it was something Krel wanted to talk about, he'd bring it up on his own accord. 

"My transduction is about to-" Krel was cut off before a burst of blue light occurred, changing his form from that of human to what had to be Akiridion. "-fade."

Douxie let out a small gasp, one of both surprise and amazement. "Woah." He couldn't help but stare, completely mesmerised. 

"So, uh, this is what I really look like..." Krel informs, seemingly nervous. His glance slowly shifts to the side.

"You're... I mean you are, nuclear," he compliments. 

Krel gives him a look of confusion in return. "I'm actually hard light energy, not nuclear. I'm not radioactive."

Douxie laughs. "I meant it as a compliment. You're breath-taking, Krel. And by that, I simply mean you're beautiful," he's quick to correct before Krel has the chance to voice his misunderstanding, which he no doubt had.

"Oh..."

"Not that you weren't before! You were still, um... I am going to stop before I make it weird."

"I'm surprised you're taking this so well. I didn't expect you to act so calmly about learning you're soulmate is an ' _alien_ '. How is it that you're not the slightest bit frightened?"

Douxie shrugs. "I've seen a lot of different species in my lifetime, Krel. An alien, or Akiridion as you prefer, isn't that much more weird. Besides, I'm not a normal human myself am I? Doubt you'll find too many Wizards left. Especially ones as old as me," he explains.

"That's true," Krel smiles, and Douxie returns it. "Come on, I can continue explaining everything once we're inside the Mothership."

Krel leads Douxie inside by the hand, closing the door and going to the fireplace. Douxie is about to comment but is stopped short when said fireplace slides into the floor, out of the way and revealing another entrance. Krel takes him through and it was nothing like Douxie had seen before. It was light up with a nice light blue hue, and seemed very technological. He figured Krel must come from a highly more advanced planet than Earth.

He was give a quick tour before they rejoined Aja and Steve in what they called the Regeneration Chamber. Krel explained what had happened to their parents, and how their life cores worked. It was a little complex to wrap his head around, but Douxie would understand eventually. That was when the thought had occurred to him, that perhaps the reason he had Krel's name on his wrist for as long as he had was because the time zones on both planets were vastly different. Time probably went slower on Akiridion-5 than it did on Earth, which would surely make Krel older in human years. 

Douxie wasn't given much time to think about it, as Krel continued explaining his story to Douxie. Then he mentioned something Douxie hoped he wouldn't have to hear.

"Wait, what? You're leaving!?"

"Tomorrow," Krel replies, looking away from Douxie. 

"But that's... Like no time at all!"

"I know, but I have to. This isn't my home, Douxie, I was never going to stay here," he explains. Douxie puts his hand on his shoulder, lightly forcing his body around so they were face to face again. 

"There's still so much left that we have to do together. A-and how will we keep communication if the time zones are completely different? H-how will we do anything... I-I..." Douxie sighs. "Krel, will I ever see you again?"

Krel sighs too, his gaze falling to the ground. "Truthfully, I don't know."

Douxie inhales sharply. Pain shoots through his heart just thinking about losing Krel and never being able to see him again. He could feel tears building up in his eyes, so he doesn't blink. He takes one slow step forward before falling into Krel's arms and sobbing against his shoulder. Doing so was easier now their height was almost the same. Krel was just slightly taller in his Akiridion form.

It was unbearable to think about. It felt as though his heart had just been carved out of his chest with a spoon. He had waited over nine-hundred years to meet his soulmate, and now he was about to lose him. They had only spent about three months together and it wasn't nearly enough. 

Douxie felt Krel wrap all four of his arms around him, holding him just as tight like he didn't want to let go either. Maybe it was selfish of Douxie to think so, but it wasn't fair. In comparison to how long he had spent without his soulmate, the time they did have together felt like nothing. It wasn't fair. 

"I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner," Krel mumbles.

Douxie quickly pulled his head away to look Krel in the eyes. "Don't ever apologise for not telling me."

"But I shouldn't have hid something like this from you. I... Feel like I lied to you about who I was," he sighs. 

"No, you didn't lie about who you were. You just hid part of yourself you weren't ready to show. It's ok to keep something this personal to yourself, you're not hurting anybody. I understand that you wouldn't want to share something this big right away," Douxie assures, moving one hand from Krel's body to his face. 

They were both abruptly brought out of the moment by Steve exclaiming 'ew' and running around. Douxie noticed he was being chased by their pet and chuckled lightly in amusement. "So that's what Luug really looks like?"

"Yeah," Krel replies and laughed when Aja picked up Luug, throwing him at Steve, who fell onto his back. Luug started to lick furiously at his face, and Krel and Aja laughed at the scene. Douxie joined in, wiping the fresh tears from his cheeks and putting his arm around Krel's neck, and rests his head back against his shoulder.

\---

Douxie wasn't as excited for Battle of the Bands as he should have been. He had been super hyped about the day for months and spent so long preparing. But now he knows that today was also the last day he would ever see his soulmate, and it was rather crushing.

When Douxie showed up to his rehearsal that morning, his friends had asked what was up, but he didn't feel like telling. He didn't feel like telling anyone, not even Archie. Of course he was going to talk about it if need be, but for now he really didn't need to. 

Once everything had been set up on stage, his friends left to wait for the competition to start while Douxie stayed behind to wait for Krel to show up. At least he was hoping Krel would come, he did promise to participate. But maybe there wasn't enough time and he'd already left? Maybe they had left early, while people were still sleeping and therefor would not see a large spaceship flying off.

Douxie sighs, slumping down on the stairs leading to the stage. He rests his head on his left palm while he waits and thinks. There were definitely still some things he had left to say to Krel, as well as a parting gift he had made for him overnight; he really hoped Krel would like that. He had also planned on apologising for not meeting Krel's expectations as his soulmate. Douxie knew Krel most likely had wanted them to be romantically involved, especially considering he thought they were dating. Douxie felt bad for robbing him of that chance, what with thinking it would be weird and all. Now he's not so sure it would have been, they may be almost the same age in human years after all. 

"Douxie!" He hears his name being called and his head immediately snaps up to look in that general direction. A smile graces his lips when he sees Krel walking over with Aja behind him and carrying his musical equipment. He gets off the stairs to allow them past and ready to greet him properly. 

"Hey," he smiles at him. But when it's not returned, it drops. "What's wrong? You can't also be having a bad day too."

"Unbelievably bad. First of all, this is my last chance to see you, then I get all these horrible messages in my 'yearbook' and then it turns out that Varvatos was the one who had betrayed my family, allowing Morando to over take Akiridion-5, and the reason we were trapped here to begin with!"

"Ok, maybe that makes your day a bit worse than mine... Are you, alright? I know that's such a silly thing to ask."

"I'm pretty annoyed beyond measure," Krel responds. Then his scowl turns into a little smile, directed at Douxie. "But I'm feeling a little better with you here."

Douxie smiles in return. Krel being here definitely made him feel a little bit lighter, too. "Oh!" he gasps suddenly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a little black box. He holds it out in his palm, offering it to Krel. 

Krel squints his eyes, examining it. "What is it?" he asks. 

"It's um, something I made for you. Like a-a parting gift, I suppose," he says. Krel takes the proffered box from his hand, still squinting his eyes as though he was unsure. 

"Thank you?" Krel shrugs, about to put it away.

"Oh, no, you're supposed to open it. _That's_ not the gift, it's what's inside," Douxie informs quickly. Krel holds it up to his eyes, shifting it around in his hands. It seemed he was still unsure what to do. "Here." Douxie uses one hand to slowly lift the lid off the box, closely watching Krel's expression as he does so, a little blue light escaping the box at the same time. 

"Huh." Krel reaches into the box, taking out the black weaved leather bracelet Douxie had made for him. Krel examines it by turning it around in his hand, a quiet gasp escaping his lips when the blue light meets his eyes. "It has your name on it."

"Yeah. I figured, it would be something to remember me by. I know you already have my name on your wrist, but you can't exactly read it. So I made you that and I... hope you like it."

Krel looks into Douxie's eyes, simply beaming, and embraces him tightly. "I do! Thank you," he whispers against his shoulder. 

"I used my magic to engrave my name on it, as a little bonus," Douxie adds. When they stop hugging, Douxie takes the bracelet from Krel's hand and helps put it onto his left wrist. He made sure it was loose enough so Krel could move it and read the actual name on his skin, too. 

"You're the best soulmate in the Universe, Douxie."

"So are you, Krel," he returns the compliment, watching content as Krel examines the bracelet more. Perhaps there would be no need to apologise after all. Krel seemed happy enough with how their relationship was, so maybe it didn't bother him they never became more than friends. 

They stood together, watching the first few performances of the competition which included Steve's rather odd but sweet song for Aja. Krel didn't look to be a fan of it, but it was abundantly obvious that Aja loved it. The two may not have been soulmates but it seemed like they really loved each other regardless. Krel and Aja were up next, so Douxie wished his soulmate luck.

He watched the performance with interest. Sure it may not be the type of music he was typically in to, but Krel was and because of that Douxie enjoyed it too. It was needless to say that Krel was a really talented DJ as well, but Douxie could expect nothing less than greatness from him. 

"I'll let you know if you won," Douxie promises when Krel gets off the stage. 

"What do you mean 'if'?" he teases. 

"Hah." Douxie playfully rolls his eyes. Krel starts packing up his equipment and Douxie's smile falters. "I'm really gonna miss you, Krel."

Krel lifts his head, looking back at the older teen. "I'll miss you too, Hisirdoux."

Douxie approaches him, slowly. "You'll communicate with me whenever you can, right?" he asks. 

"I promise."

"Please just go hug him or something, little brother," Aja encourages from behind them. And Krel does as he's told, walking back to Douxie and giving him one final hug.

It doesn't last very long, as an Earthquake forces them to separate and a burning light shoots up into the sky. "Fuzzbuckets, that's not good." 

The entirety of the surrounding area is smothered in fog, and Douxie had hoped he'd never need to see those creatures again. If they were back, then that would mean Morgana was back too, and that certainly wasn't good. Douxie turned his attention back to Krel, who was now being dragged away by Aja.

"Wait!" he calls out, catching up to them. Aja sighs, letting Krel's arm go. Douxie stops moving right in front of him and puts his hands on Krel's shoulders. After a second of hesitation, he bends his neck down just enough to be at the right height, and once Krel doesn't shift away, Douxie plants a gentle kiss to his left cheek. He moves back and watches as the younger's face turns deep blue. "Goodbye."

He steps back, giving Krel the chance to leave with his sister and the other Akiridion that had just shown up who were both encouraging Krel to hurry up. Krel glances back at them, then to Douxie and smiles. "I'm not very good with human feelings, but... I... I love you, Douxie," he confesses. 

All Douxie could do in return was stand there and watch as his soulmate gave one last wave goodbye, turning on his heels to catch up with his family and leave. Of course he knew Krel loved him, and if Douxie was completely honest with himself, he loved Krel too. He had for a while and it was pointless trying to deny the fact. 

It wasn't weird for him to love Krel; he wasn't even human so what should the age difference matter? They both weren't really human and he knows for a fact that Krel is a lot older on Earth than what he is on his home planet. 

He also knows that his life will never be the same again. He would always feel incomplete without his soulmate, and he'd never get to see him again. At least, not in person anyways. Maybe they would figure out a way to get that to work but until that happens, texts and phone calls would have to suffice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it!
> 
> For the first part.
> 
> I am doing a continuation but as a separate work, and I'll probably write the first chapter for it within the next week. So yeah. I figured it would be a good thing to do, especially if you feel like this is a good place to leave it. Then you can (:  
> So thanks everyone for reading this, I really do appreciate all the love this story has received and I hope all who read it, enjoyed it. And also if you're reading this, well done (and thank you) for making it all the way through to the end.
> 
> And as always, any/all comments are appreciated!


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